Home schooling is an interesting subject. I have known many types of home schooled students; from those that were well educated (I did not say well rounded) to some whose skills appalled even me, a jaded, just-outside-the-inner-city teacher. It all depends on the quality of the education delivered. I would never home school my own kids. I am hardly disciplined enough to make sure my son does his piano practice with any great regularity. There is a certain difference between classroom teaching and home-teaching.

In the slipstream of considering and treating every child as an individual from a very young age, many useful educational basic helps have disappeared. Such as: mnemonic devices for spelling- conjugation, calculation and important years in national and world history rattled off by the whole class. (those shared incantations were fun) (over 30 kids in three rows).Singing in class does not survive kindergarten any more (here),it's considered a waste of time. ( the best shared waste of timeimaginable, but..)

Same chances for all has left us without plummers, bricklayers, carpenters, pavement repairers etc. By the time youngsters, who initially would have chosen a métier(hand-work)are allowed to choose between a hand-work education or the theoretical side, they have becom so bored by (to them) useless theoretical things, that they choose whatever is the easiest way. ( loads of them anyway )

Don't know if this falls under politics or thought sharing.Let me know if it crossed the line. (or interrupted a steady conversation).

I before E, except after C or when sounded as A, (as in neighbor or weigh!)

Garrison Kellior (i used to listen regularly now.. not so regularly) used to have 'the department of folk songs" for many of these silly songs that help remember spelling (encyclopedia!) or grammer, or FACTS.

I think you have hit the nail on the head. We are (admonished to be ) focused on State Test scores. The current system is educating no one. Your statement that singing in class goes nowhere beyond Kinder is very accurate. I do music, but must disguise it as English Language Development. Certainly, there is no room for singing in the current climate.

i went to a parochial school class size was over 60--every year (graduation class in 8th grade was 64!)

Ok, we were all girls (more chatter than antics) and there was the threat of expulsion --not unique, but apparently uncommonly, no corporal punishment (we were mortified, but not manhandled!)

we had:religion, english, poetry (once a week, in addition to english, and we had separate poetry books) we read aloud, and were required to memorize!SRA, (reading) controlled reading (2 times a week), spelling (oh how i hated spelling!)and vocabulary math, science, history, geography, civics (once a week) art(once a week--3 weeks of drawing (making art) and 1 week a month of art appreciation), music (once a week(again, 3 weeks of song, 1 week of music technicalities--like learning to read music.) Dance (no gym-once a week) plus, of course, fire drills (NYC Mandates 1 fire drill every 2 weeks-for schools!) (and even air raid drills!) and field trips (NYC museums, the zoo, the botanical gardens) at least once a year. (often 2 field trips a year) and once a year trips to the local library (to learn library skills!)

and we got out early (1 hour) once a week--a release time progam (so public school kids could come and get religious education!)

our day was full of learning! lots of subjects! (part of that learning was rote and part was songs (another form of rote!))

nowdays, it is 'social studies' history, geography and civics all rolled into one, and more focus on soft stuff and not on dates and facts

Geography! today's kids don't know it, or how to read a map! and they know less civic too,

and we had state wide test (for reading and math comprehension) once a year..and "regents" exams (state wide test in a subject (like history) that were optional, but all good school opted in.. (so parents could see where kids 'stood' compared to others in the state. (my school always came up in 70th or percentile.. not a top school, but still above the average!)

I see my friends kids, doing lots of busy work ("workbook" stuff) they do pages of this stuff in school and many more pages of this stuff for homework!) the kids are bored by this dull work!in first grade i was expect to memorize poetry .

i am bright, but i wasn't one of those kid who learned to read early.. (i could read words, but real reading, that i learned in school (and as soon as i could read, i was allowed/encouraged to read real stuff, not "dick and jane" junk!) (while still in elementary school, i discovered serial novels (crime novels no less!) in the newspaper and started to read them!--(NYDaily news!)

my grandkids are in 'charter schools" and one requirement is heavy parental involvement.. my grand daughter (like my son) is a bit slow in learning to read.. but she loves books, and i suspect any day now (she is in second grade) reading will click, and she'll make up 'lost time' (my son went from not reading to reading above grade level in 8 weeks.. ) but the school is in a quandry.. she is 'failing' (and remember, there is to be no child left behind!)--so all the supposed 'individual education" it all crap.. she need to be "normal" (not herself!)

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